An international symposium was conducted in New Delhi on November 19-22,
2004 to examine the relevance in today's world of recommendations contained in the report
of the International Commission on Peace & Food, Uncommon Opportunities: Agenda
for Peace & Equitable Development, which was submitted to the UN in 1994. The
meeting was co-sponsored by the International Centre for Peace & Development (USA),
the Mother's Service Society (India), the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (India),
the National Farmers Commission (Government of India), the UN World Food Program and the
World Academy of Art & Science. The conference explored the inextricable mutual
interdependence between peace, social stability, democracy, employment and food security.
It concluded that

Revolution of Rising Expectations:

Rising
expectations is the underlying social stimulus to both rapid development and increasing
social violence. Generation of employment opportunities and economic growth can be a
viable strategy for eliminating or minimizing local conflicts and terrorism.

Cooperative Security:

In order to provide a
secure environment for all peoples, the world must inevitably shift from the present
competitive security system based on the nation state to a global cooperative system
supported by a World Peace Army.

Nuclear Disarmament:

Nuclear weapons must be
eradicated and a meeting without agenda should be convened by all eight known nuclear
weapons states to discuss practical steps to break the logjam on disarmament.

Right to Employment:

The employment must be
considered a fundamental human right to be constitutionally guaranteed and the Government
of India's initiative to introduce an Employment Guarantee Act should be commended and
emulated by other nations.

Employment Generation:

There is ample scope for
generation of greater employment, self-employment and entrepreneurial opportunities
based an understanding of the natural process by which they are created in society.
In India, generation of 100 million jobs is possible within 10 years by a strategy that
utilizes agriculture as an engine for economic development.

Employable Skills:

The global shortage of
employable and vocational skills that is emerging necessitates a
significant expansion of vocational training programs, the propagation of
computerized vocational training for a wide range of vocational skills, raising the
mandatory minimum level of education and reorientation of education to increase its
relevance to social needs.

Food Security:

Food security can only be
achieved in developing countries such as India by a strategy that combines employment
generation with rising agricultural productivity.

The conclusions of the Delhi meeting will be examined further during the
General Assembly of the World Academy of Art & Science in Zagreb, Croatia in October
2005 and at an international symposium on nuclear disarmament in Nagasaki, Japan in
November 2005.